Picking up on Saturday.....

[ryansears]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone and that i will be officially joining the family come this saturday when i pick up my bike at BMW of Manhattan. You've all been a great help in having me decide this was the bike for me. Cant wait!!

-ryan

[TAG-Caver]

Congratulations, you've picked a winner! Be sure to send us some pics when you pick her up.

Kevin

[websterize]

Welcome. I joined the family in early April and have discovered a wealth of information on this site and BMWMOA. Good luck on Saturday.

[Motorcycle_Girl]

Enjoy the bike! I got mine last week

[Mollygrubber]

Yeah! You'll love it! Not sure I'd like riding in Manhattan traffic myself, but if you're up for that it's a great bike. For ANYTHING, really! This weekend mine's a tourer, going out to Vancouver Island. When I get there it's be a scratcher for those lovely windy roads . Come Monday it'll be an awesome commuter again!

Good choice, glad we 'nudged' you away from the dark side(s)

Peter

ps. is it Blue? Cuz that's the fastest...

[bobw]

Congrats! I hear the Adirondacks and New England mountain roads calling you already.

BTW, Blue is beautiful, Black is fastest, just to clarify

[vielzebub]

BTW, Blue is beautiful, Black is fastest, just to clarify

...and black with white stripes is granddaddy of them all. Fastest for sure...

Congrats on your bike Ryan. It's a great one. Nimble enough for my daily commute to Boston and solid enough to tour New England on the weekends.
Hope you enjoyed your ride yesterday...

Eric

[ryansears]

So my first ride was great but very short....It went from the best day to the worst very quickly.

So heres what happened. I took the MSF course about 5 weeks ago and have been waiting for my road test waiver to come in the mail since. NY DMV tells us 6-8 weeks, which is totally crazy. Needless to say it was torturous. So in the meantime went to the dealership and decided on the bike i wanted. When they looked in the computer there was only 2 black ones left that were close to the features i wanted. I started to get nervous that i would lose out on it and not be able to get one for the summer, so i decided to buy it knowing it will take a week or so to arrive in NY. So it was just a matter of what was going to come first, the waiver or the bike. Well the bike came first. So I went to go pick it up on saturday and rode for a little while and was on my way to drop it off at the garage where i was going to keep it. I decided i wasnt going to go too far without my license. But of course the NYPD decided to set up a motorcycle checkpoint where they were checking all motorcycles' paperwork. Well I didnt have my license, so they slapped me with a summons and towed my bike to the pound. Brand new, 8 miles on it and they were taking it away from me. I watched them strap it down on the flat bed and they were very careful with it. But i had no idea what would happen on the other end.

So i walk home in disgrace and open my mailbox, only to find the road test waiver in my mail. i couldnt believe the irony. So Saturday night and Sunday was brutal. Monday morning, wake up go to DMV, get my license and head to the pound. Pay $185 + tax for my bike, check it for any scratches (it was perfect) and finally got to ride care-free all day yesterday. Now i still have to pay the summons but as long as the bike was fine thats all i cared about. So anyone in NYC, they said they would be doing these checkpoints all summer long. So if you or anyone you know doesnt have all of their paperwork, they will take the bike. When i was there for an hour they took atleast 50 bikes. and when i went to the pound, it was like a sea of bikes.

Sorry so long, but i thought you guys would appreciate my agony but now also appreciate the long awaited happiness i have with my awesome bike. will put up pictures soon, and yes i plan on taking some trips out of the city very soon.

-ryan

[mogu83]

Great start to your motorcycling experience If you go to court, you can show that you had the motorcycle endorsement but you just didn't have it with you - might save you a few bucks.
The New York State Police tried this (checking only motorcycles) last year and the AMA stopped it in a hurry. If your an AMA member you should give them (AMA) a call.

[bmwk100]

When you say that they check your papers, what are the papers? I know we have to possess a valid license and registration. What else is needed?

[websterize]

. . . I took the MSF course about 5 weeks ago and have been waiting for my road test waiver to come in the mail since. NY DMV tells us 6-8 weeks, which is totally crazy. Needless to say it was torturous. So in the meantime went to the dealership and decided on the bike i wanted.

I took the Basic Rider Course in March and earned an endorsement certificate on the last day. It was interesting how many "new" students regularly motored.

Despite the stress, this is a great story for the grandkids. Hope you can post photos. I'm commuting regularly and expanding touring distances most weekends. I never imagined motoring could be this much fun. Such a great bike.

[snag]

Made for a great Monday, didn't it. There might be something to the concept of denial. Enjoy the bike and: pictures please.

Doug

[bobw]

Wow, glad you have her back and all is well. I hope explaining the story and that in fact the endorsement was valid, but just not available will reduce the fine to license not in possession VS no mc license.

bmwk100

Most states require a proper card showing valid proof of an insured vehicle.

Safe travels

Bob

[ryansears]

The "papers" required were:

License (m class obviously)
Valid Registration
Valid Inspection (NY inspection expires every year, not sure about every state)
Valid Insurance

if you didnt have all they took your bike for the weekend. and if you didnt pick up by monday, $20 a day at pound.

[bmwk100]

That's a lot of paperwork! In Florida you do not need proof of insurance because if the bike is paid off you can choose to opt out of insurance.

Yearly inspection? New York has too many regulations!

Enjoy the bike!

[famousperson]

Pennsylvania:

Valid mc driving licence
Registration slip
Proof of insurance slip
Annual inspection (sticker)